The
top sponsor of the House of Representative's immigration bill on Friday
fiercely rejected a the proposal to give millions of illegal immigrants
a "get out of jail free card" and a direct path to US citizenship.
Many Washington insiders believe the Senate bill will receive a cold
reception from the GOP-led House.

Rep.
James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), who heads the Judiciary Committee, called
the bill the Senate passed on Thursday an "amnesty" that the House
would not accept. Other House Republicans -- including Rep. Peter
King, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee --say they will
not pass any bill that rewards lawbreaking.

"I
reject the spin that the senators have been putting on their proposal,"
Rep. Sensenbrenner said at a news conference on Friday. "It is amnesty."

The
Senate on Thursday passed an immigration overhaul that some claim
is the biggest power-grab in that body's history. The bill border
security and enforcement measures that are less stringent than that
which is contained in the House bill, coupled with a guest worker
program, social security benefits, wage controls that few American
citizens enjoy, and a plan that would give many of the 11 million
to 12 million illegal immigrants in the country a chance to become
citizens.

President
George W. Bush, who strongly supports a guest worker plan, pushed
hard for the Senate passage of the measure and is expected to become
deeply involved in the House-Senate bargaining for a final bill.

"[President]
Bush on Friday got a phone call from his boss, Mexican President Vicente
Fox, who is in California on the last day of a US tour, and praised
Bush's efforts to push for legalized status for some immigrants,"
says political analyst Mike Baker.

Fox
is deeply troubled by the amount of resistance to the Senate giveaway.
The Mexican President hopes to continue sending his poor, his mentally
ill and his criminals to the United States, thereby relieving the
Mexican government of the expenses incurred for providing social services
for his people. Instead, the Senate bill will be the largest redistribution
of wealth strategy since President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society."

The
only difference is, according to observers, the wealth is being redistributed
to another country -- Mexico -- and it's the American people who will
foot the bill while lawmakers in Washington take the credit and garner
the votes.

Bush
and Fox discussed the effort to secure the border and boost economic
prosperity in both countries, said Frederick Jones, spokesman for
the White House National Security Council. Of course, President Fox
opposes fences or walls. He opposes using the National Guard to assist
the Border Patrol agents. He opposes penalties against companies that
employ illegal aliens. He opposes restrictions on funneling US dollars
into his country. And he refuses to allow his troops -- which are
already on the border helping drug traffickers and human smugglers
-- to help in controlling the illegal aliens entering the US.

Critics
called the guest worker idea an amnesty that rewards people who broke
US laws. But supporters said it was not forgiving anyone because people
would have to pay a fine, pay back taxes, learn English and meet other
requirements to get on the citizenship track. By contrast, the House
in December passed a tough border security and enforcement measure
that would make being in the United States illegally a felony instead
of a misdemeanor..

Sensenbrenner
said any bill that emerges out of negotiations between the House and
the Senate would have to concentrate on securing the nation's leaky
borders and punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"With
the border controls and the enforcement of employer sanctions, the
jobs for illegal immigrants will dry up," Sensenbrenner told Fox News
Channel on Friday.

"And
if you can't get a job because employer sanctions are enforced, my
belief is is that a lot of the illegal immigrants will simply go back
home voluntarily."

The
House bill has sparked protests around the country from Hispanic groups
and their supporters. But the tough Sensenbrenner said he would not
accept the Senate's position. In fact, following the rallies and protests
by illegal aliens -- which were organized by radical groups -- more
American became concerned over the problem of illegal immigration.

"It
seems to me that what we need to do is to figure out a way, short
of amnesty, to deal with the labor needs of the American economy,"
Sensenbrenner said. "And if the Senate gets off of the dime of pushing
for amnesty, even though they call it something different, then I
think there's room for negotiation."

Bush,
mindful of the growing clout of Hispanic voters, has long supported
immigration reform and has said he backs a comprehensive approach
along the lines of the Senate bill. But the issue deeply divides Republicans
and many believe it is an important issue for them in this year's
congressional elections.

Recent
polls show growing public dissatisfaction with the Republican majority.
Many lawmakers say Bush will have to become deeply involved in the
bargaining if a final bill is to be agreed upon before the November
elections, when Democrats hope to make big gains. Even African-Americans
overwhelmingly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens saying it takes money
away from programs designed to help poor American citizens.

White
House spokesman Tony Snow said on Friday that lawmakers were staking
out their positions ahead of House-Senate negotiations and he thought
there was broad support for the president's stand.

"I
get the very clear sense from leadership in both houses that they
want to get something done," Snow said. "This is not an issue to be
dragged past election day. They want to get something done."

Snow
is correct, but the bill passed by the Senate is not what most Americans
had in mind when they demanded immigration reform.

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Some
provisions in the Senate bill are viewed as out-and-out unjust. For
instance, those illegal aliens who perpetrated identity theft and
used the fraudulent ID for paying into the Social Security system,
will still be eligible for benefits. Meanwhile, Americans who perpetrated
the same crime are doing hard time in our nation's prisons, according
to one dissatisfied congressional staffer.

Conservatives
angrily state that they hope the House Republicans "squash" the Senate
bill. Better yet, they say, it should be dead-on-arrival.

Jim Kouri, CPP
is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs
of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington
Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the
1980s. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police
and security officers throughout the country.

He writes for
many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times,
The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared
as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including
Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book
Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and
can be ordered at local bookstores.